House Republicans pan proposal to split up DHS bill despite openness from Trump

House Republicans are pushing back stiffly against the idea of splitting up legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), despite the White House and Senate Republicans saying President Trump is open to doing just that. 

For weeks, GOP leaders have rejected the idea of funding most of DHS, including airport screeners and FEMA, while delaying spending on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) while lawmakers negotiate reforms. Republicans have warned that withholding funding for immigration enforcement would “defund the police” at risk to national security.

On Monday, however, Trump signaled a willingness to GOP senators to carve out funding for some ICE enforcement and put it on a different track.

The idea sparked protests from a number of House Republicans — leaders and rank-and-file alike — who quickly threw cold water on the strategy. 

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told reporters that it’s not his “preference” to push a DHS funding bill that doesn’t include funding for ICE.

“I can tell you, the House has funded DHS twice. We’re prepared to do it again. Completely fund the entire department. That is the responsible way to do this thing. So, we’ve been very resistant to any idea to break it apart,” Johnson said. 

Trump’s new willingness to split the DHS bill apart, which came during a White House meeting with Senate Republicans on Monday night, caught House Republicans off guard, undermining their warnings about heightened threats amid the shutdown and forcing them to recalibrate their position in the debate. 

It also confronted Republicans with a tough choice: They can stick with their initial demands for full ICE funding, in which case they risk a clash with Trump. Or they can back a two-part plan, and risk losing those funds altogether if Congress can’t complete the onerous and lengthy process to pass a second reconciliation bill this year.

Some conservatives are already warning that it’s not a risk they want to take. 

“When you start splitting things off, it’s going to give the Democrats more leverage in the future, and I guarantee you they will hang that around the necks of the American people,” Rep.........

© The Hill